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Updated: Apr 9, 2026
Methods for the Self-integration of Megamolecular Biopolymers on the Drying Air-LC Interface
Published on: April 7, 2017
Combined Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Experimental Studies of the Structure and Dynamics of
Stacy L Chin, Qing Lu1, Eric L Dane
1Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University , Brookline, Massachusetts 02446, United States.
Abstract:
Poly-amido-saccharides (PAS) are carbohydrate-based, enantiopure synthetic polymers in which sugar repeat units are joined by amide linkages. This unique and relatively rigid pyranose backbone contributes to their defined helical secondary structure and remarkable chemical properties. Glucose- (glc-) and galactose- (gal-) PAS 10-mer structures are synthesized and investigated with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental measurements. Quantum mechanical DFT energy minimization calculations, as well as experimental observables including circular dichroism, (1)H,(13)C-HSQC, and (1)H,(1)H-NOESY 2D-NMR studies, validated the all-atom simulation models produced using a modified CHARMM force field. Water radial distribution functions show distinct differences in the glc- and gal-PAS systems that correlate well with observed differences in solubility between gal-PASs and glc-PASs. The computational analysis and MD simulations are in good agreement with experimental results, validating the proposed models as reliable representations of novel glc- and gal-PASs.
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